A7

Ahhh finally up to speed. Went to Mysticism this morning, and then skipped global studies. For the past three days the revenge of traveler’s diarrhea has made my life fairly miserable. Sorry if that is too much information for some of you, my beloved readers. I woke up for the announcement after Global Studies today: we are doing an apartheid simulation on the ship. The privileged class? Those who shaved their heads or got Mohawks within the past week. Well shit. All of my friends have hair. So..for lunch I could not go eat on 5^th deck because that was for the unprivileged class only. I went upstairs and found Perry and some other people which was fun.

We also found out that we were allowed into the faculty/staff lounge…so after we chowed down quicky, we all sprinted to the faculty staff lounge. At which point we sat down and started doing homework, but then it just felt so incredibly uncomfortable that we simply left. I went and napped until it was time for International Relations.

We covered all economic stuff in IR…it makes me ever so glad that I did not take Intl’ Political Economy with Dr. Wes too! I would have died a long horrible death! Brianne and I are going to have to review this stuff, especially because Dr. Wes made some board errors while writing so I am extra confused.

Immediately after IR, I went to day two of being a study buddy…as soon as I walked over to the kids, Sage Zimmerman yelled, “Work with me today LeeAnne!” haha So Maddie was a little tiffed, but all she had to do was tests. I helped Sage with her geography and daily oral language, and then she worked really well on her own with her English workbook. These kids are bright, and so dedicated. Sage and Maddie are both almost done with several of their subjects because they have been working ahead and are just bright kids.

We talked about apartheid with the students because some of them were already angry about the situation because they were not allowed to swim in the pool, with the exception of Mohawk-ed 6 year old Michael, because that was one of the off-limits areas for our simulation. Being 6 years old, Michael was not at all afraid to taunt his older sister and her friends about this fact. It was really interesting to hear what they thought, because they could still get away with a lot, but the pool was one of those things that they couldn’t weasel into.

After that, I was supposed to have my ship-family dinner, but the rest of them were haired folks, so I couldn’t join them in the 5^th deck dining room. Stacy, my ship sister, was angry, and she grabbed my elbow and said, “We’re protesting..this is family!”, and we walked arm in arm to the 5^th deck dining room to go sit with Granny Joan, but I was soon removed from the area. I went to go eat upstairs, and there was a protest blocking the way into our dining room.

People were yelling singing, doing whatever they thought good to stop baldies from getting into their dining room. I joined the protest, and then one of my haired friends from the Amazon and I decided we were going to go into the privileged class dining room and eat together. So we got up, again walked arm in arm, and walked to the serving line. She grabbed her tray and plate and began to put salad on it, and the crew took it away from her! So, she sat down, and I brought over food for the both of us. Finally, all of the protesters came inside the privileged dining room and stood in line, and all that jazz.

The baldies were all yelling, “Shave or Behave” and the haired people were all yelling insults back. Elise and Jen came to sit with us along with another baldie girl…two of them left, and then I saw Maddie outside alone on the 6^th deck, so I went to see if she wanted to come eat with me and my haired friends. I didn’t realize her dad was already in line for food, but at the rate some of these college kids were acting, I wouldn’t have put it past them to say something rude to the 10 year old about having hair and still being on the privileged deck. She grabbed Dr. Wes and they came down at sat with us.

At that exact moment one of the baldie guys came over and started yelling at the people with hair and cussing. Now…he definitely saw Dr. Wes, and while he may not have seen Maddie scooted low in her chair, there was no excuse. Dr. Wes calmly told him to stop cussing because his daughter was there, and he stopped cussing, but kept yelling, and finally said, “Do any of you know what Apartheid was about?”

WRONG person to ask that question to: Dr. Wes is our international relations professor, was there when the Berlin Wall fell, has been to South Africa many times, and is one of the most aware professors on this ship…the kid started to walk away and Dr. Wes followed him and gave him an earful. When he sat back down, he said in his Texas drawl, “I’ve got a long fuse, but you don’t want to light it.” And then we had a peaceful rest of our dinner.

Later, before watching the nightly movie, Dr. Wes saw me and asked me if anything had happened before he and his daughter sat down between us and the kid, and if we had provoked the kid, and to be honest. Well, we hadn’t. Dr. Wes had identified the kid on the board with all of our pictures and had already talked to his RD.

I studied in the library a bit, and then I went to watch An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore. No matter what you think of Gore, this movie was well done and humorous, but also drove home a serious point. Bryan was really happy, because he did all the publicity for it and everything and it filled the Union. After that I just read in my room for awhile and got Katie tea because she is sick and then went to bed.

B7

This morning Jen and I were going to have breakfast on 6^th deck together, but we forgot the simulation was still in effect…so I ate with Zeona and then a guy named Evan from Penn State. I went to the Union to get a seat, because Sage made me promise I would come sit by her in the Union. It was also the day that Desmond Tutu was speaking to Global Studies!

First of all, any day Dr. Dan isn’t speaking is a good day. When the Archbishop speaks, it is an EXCELLENT day. Or to use the word Tutu loved to use today, “fantastic!” with his little high pitched squeak!

He told many stories to convey his points about apartheid, but one of the most heartbreaking came when he told a story about his family. When he was a boy, he and his father went to the local grocery, and a young women called his father, “boy” and the Archbishop said he always wondered what his father felt like. He then told a story about his daughter, who was born in England, but then they returned to South Africa. She saw a playground and asked her daddy if she could go play. He had to say, “No, you can’t play there.” And then he said he finally knew what his father felt like. He wanted the ground to split right open and take him away.

However, he told many more inspiring stories too. At one point we clapped when he declared, “and apartheid was over!” So then he said he had a magic wand, and made the appropriate hand motions, and said he could turn people into instant South Africans…so he waved his magic wand over us, and said South Africans were much more raucous! He made his end of apartheid declaration again and we became the boisterous, raucous South Africa crowd. And then he turned us back into non-South Africans so he could finish his talk! Haha

One last point about him is that he made the point about the anger and hurt that is in South Africa, but he focused so much more on the capacity for forgiveness and reconciliation that we all have. It was beautiful. In a way, listening to him leaves me feeling slightly inadequate but also deeply inspired. Who knows what will happen with the rest of this voyage and the world is waiting for me.

And on that note, I have to do some real work. So mom…I hope you’re happy with the blog updates!

Neptune Day to B6

Today is B7....this is the blog from Neptune Day until B6...enjoy!

Neptune Day

We were warned of an early wake up call on Neptune Day and we got one! The crew came through the hallways at 7:49 am banging pots, pans, and drums and blowing whistles and pounding on our doors! A lot of people didn’t get up, but I changed and headed up to breakfast and then at 8:45 we went to 7^th deck to wait for the festivities.

We sat on the wooden platform surrounding the pool, and then suddenly we heard the crew playing their instruments away again…this time they were followed by King Neptune, Queen Minerva, and then the people who have already crossed the equator. Everyone was dressed up in costume and it was a grand parade!

Dean Mike came up to introduce the King and Queen when it finally sunk in who the King and Queen were…starring as King Neptune was CAPTAIN JEREMY in full on green body paint and no shirt, and making an appearance as Queen Minerva was DEAN LARRY! Holy Cow! They are brave! Some of the other professors and staff made debut appearances as the supporting cast and it was great!

We swore an oath to King Neptune, but he still did not believe us to be worthy of turning from pollywogs into shellbacks. So…the games began! At first they told us to just jump into the water and didn’t mentioned the fish guts, so even though I was not originally going to get in, I thought I might as well before the fish guts were brought out. So I jumped in. FULLY CLOTHED. No swim suit and a tank top and my khaki cargo capris. Hot diggity! I got out and kissed the fish and at that point Captain Jeremy told me I was not worthy and told me to get the fush guts.

I was already soaking wet, so why not? Elise and I got the guts dumped on us together and then jumped into the pool… I got out again and this time they made us kiss both of the fish, and then I proceeded to kiss King Neptune’s ring. As I was about to walk off the platform, Dr. Dan (the global studies prof) took his tin foil sword and rewarded me with being called a shellback! Whoohoo! I went back to my room to rinse off and change and then I began to prepare for the shaving of the head!

I waited in line, and my professor, Dr. Wes, shaved my head! I have been harassing him for weeks about him not being sure about the shaving of the head, and so I figured he deserved to take this Mohawk off. There was more dying of the shavers, and so we all had to wait…finally the smart Dr. Wes from Texas decided to go inside and put the overheating clippers on the ice cold metal railing of the ship. Miraculously they started working! So he clipped my head, and did a little hack job, but overall pretty good. I don’t have a good picture of me without any hair, but the picture on facebook is of my Mohawk, which looked pretty good.

The rest of the day after getting my head shaved was pretty boring…we just hung out and since we had goofed around the night before, we actually had to get work done for the next day. They did have a barbecue for us that night and we ate like a bunch of gluttons…they had hamburgers, hot dogs, barbecue chicken, barbecue ribs…the works. If there is one thing this ship does well, it is their barbecue ribs.

A6

I will always remember the day A6. It was the day I woke up at 6:45 in the morning so that I could attend a Eucharist in the Executive Dean’s cabin celebrated by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. I woke up at 6:45 and showered and made myself look pretty and then at 7:15 I headed up to the 7^th deck to go to the cabin. Theo, Anna and Kate were the other students to attend, even though six of us total were invited. How could someone possibly sleep through the chance to be a part of this??!?! My on ship granny was also there, along with some other life long learners.

Before the service he forgot to ask someone to read the appointed psalm, so when it came to that point, he jumped up and said, “You! Read this psalm” and I got to hold the personal prayer book of Desmond Tutu. I read quite beautifully if I do say so myself, reading the slowest I ever have in order to not completely screw up! Being in a community reciting the Nicene Creed and the Eucharistic prayers and the Lord’s Prayer and ALL of it brought some tears to my eyes. I am still searching for the right words to describe how being present in that time and place, but I’m working on it. It just felt like my soul was refreshed and lifted a little after being on this ship so long.

It was weird to have to go right to Mysticism right after the service..it created a disjointed kind of feeling for my day…joy and a sense of calm during the Eucharist and then rushing right into the hurriedness of the day…Mysticism was good though. We discussed the Gospel of Thomas and did a close textual reading of some of the parts. I’ve never looked at the Gnostic gospels before and so it was really interesting to dig into it and see the differences with what has become orthodox Christian theology.

Global Studies was boring…I fell asleep for a little bit and once I started to lightly snore, Jeff tapped me awake. Thank you Jeff! I also had International Relations and I had forgotten to do my journal for the class, and Dr. Wes told us it was due at 1700. However…I had to go to my first day as a study buddy for the dependent children on ship until then!

Working with the kids was pretty darn fabulous. It made me miss my daycare kids so much! Dr. Wes’s kids are Michael and Maddie, who are 6 and 10, Toni Zimmerman, the psych prof, has two kids, Sage and Misha, who are 10 and 13, and the ship shrink has her daughter Supohn with her. Those are the five that are there on a daily basis.

For the first day I helped Maddie…she was practicing her social studies and science tests and so we went over all of her review sheets. she answered almost all of the questions perfectly, so her mom said that it counted for her test…now we have a little joke where I ask her what the two oldest colleges in the US are and where they were located because that was the one thing that haunted her until the end!

We also held the first on-ship worship service that night. It was three worship songs, a welcome, my prayer, 2 worship songs, prayer for South Africa, 3 worship songs, dismissal, worship song, prayer. So…we sang a lot. However, it gave me an appreciated for how some people genuinely worship and how their spirits were lifted so much just through that 50 minute service of singing. That’s really all from that day

B6

Absolutely nothing interesting. Seriously.

Except that I had my first real test. Medieval Travel Accounts. I am usually one of the first people done with essay tests because I write so fast, but there was so much information to convey in this exam.

Jeff reminded me: this boat has been rocking like CRAZY. When we would sit at meals, we would gaze out the various windows and see all ocean one moment and then all sky the next moment. It became a running mantra where everyone would say, “Ocean! Sky! Ocean! Sky!”

Other than that? Relaxed, watched part of the movie Ed Woods, and then read some of Teresa of Avila.

- Amazon!!

Picture of my shaved head coming soon!


Quick update: I'll write more later, but I need to get this out there now.

I am one of 6 students who has been invited to participate in the Eucharist celebrated by Desmond Tutu tomorrow morning. Let that sink in for a moment. I am one of six of over seven hundred students to be invited to Eucharist with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

I am on all of those religious programming committees with the Resident Director, Drew, and I talked to him a little bit about how much I miss the Eucharist and being in the midst of the community, as I've explained on here. Well...for tomorrow, Drew was allowed to invite 6 of the people he deemed appropriate to attend Eucharist with the Archbishop.

He grabbed me in the piano lounge tonight and said he needed to talk to me, and I kept thinking of what I hadn't done right for the Christian worship servce tomorrow night, and then he asked me if I would like to go to the 7:20 Eucharist in the Executive Dean's cabin. We are the first 6 students to go, and I am freaking out. Drew said to keep it on the downlow, but I have been telling all of my friends. oops...I can't keep something like this to myself!

I called my mom, and then I called Stephie...I haven't been able to get ahold of the BFF for days, so I got to tell them.

update on Neptune Day coming sometime...I'm a buzzed head and loving every minute of it. It is so incredibly freeing. But...I have lots of work to do since I have to be up so god forsaked early tomorrow morning!!!! And we lose another hour of sleep tonight...good night!

Brazil and Amazonia!

Brazil: Salvador and the Amazon

Salvador

I woke up early in the morning once again to see us pull into Salvador. Coming around the coastline you can just see the beautiful churches of the Pelhourino and the vast dichotomy with the favellas that are down by the port area. Elise, Bryan, Jeff, Jen and I went to breakfast, and then we had to clear immigration. Again we had to have a face to face meeting with an immigrations officer, and they are pretty serious. I think it was Dean Mike who said that they are particularly tough on Americans coming into the country because the United States is stringent with the Brazilians we let in. After we went through immigration, a US Consular Agent spoke to the entire ship in her diplomatic briefing. She decided it would be a really great idea to tell us a story of a carjacking where a 6 year old boy was caught in the seatbelt outside the car and dragged 6 kilometers to his death. Was it really necessary to tell us that? Marvel, the ship shrink, was sitting in the piano lounge too, and we all noticed her shaking her head and putting her hands up. Later I talked to Dr. Wes’s wife, because they have a six year old son, and apparently after that briefing he asked whether something bad was going to happen to him like that. NOT cool.

Jen had to stay on the ship for them to take her to a dentist in Salvador, so Bryan, Elise, Jeff and I went out exploring in Salvador. We walked to the Elevador Lacerda trying to find the Mercado Modelo, and couldn’t find it, but we explored some really interesting parts of Salvador. Off of the elevator we turned left and kept walking and walking and we finally reached these amazing old cobblestone streets. We found some great local artisans and Elise bought some jewelry, Jeff bought a mask, and I bought a painting of Capoeira. We bought some ice cream at the top of the elevator on recommendation from Marvel as she walked back down to the elevator, and then we came back to the ship for lunch because we all had FDPs to go on anyways.

My FDP was the Candomble Temple and Museum. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but I certainly learned a lot more in depth material than what was covered in global studies and cultural preport. Our guide was a member of a Candomble house, and so she explained about each of the house shrines we passed. It was a little bit of a let down that we could not enter, but they are only for the members of the house. They had the beads that represent the orixas, and so I got a string of white and blue beads because they represent the orixa Iemanja. She represents water and life. We also heard some stories from Mother Detina. She has lived in this Candomble compound almost her whole life, and she spoke about her time away from Candomble and her return. It was incredible to hear such wisdom from her and it was easy to see why she is so respected within the community.

I returned from the FDP at 1800, and I decided not to go out to Carnaval. I mean, I am sure I would have been okay, but at dinner I heard a story about three girls already being held at knife point and robbed, so I decided to play safe. I went to bed at 8 pm, because I had to wake up at 12:30 am for my adventure to the Amazon!

*The writing from here on out for the Amazon is basically my personal journal that I updated each night on the riverboat*

Amazon: Day One

Holy cow! I could leave the Rio Negro right now and still be completely satisfied. We met in the Union at one o’clock this morning and departed the MV Explorer around one forty-five. When we arrived at the airport, the tour operator took me and Jika to the ATM and then we rejoined the rest of the group. The security here in Brazil is so incredibly relaxed. At no point were we asked to present our passports or other photo ID, and there was just one little x-ray scanner that looked like it was made in 1970. One kid from our Amazon group showed up absolutely blazing drunk from Carnaval. In the Union before we left he was so obviously drunk and a lot of us wish he wouldn’t have been allowed to come, because everyone had to babysit him a little. At the airport he was inappropriate and we were all a little embarrassed to be there with him. At one point he had all of his cash hanging out of one pocket, his passport barely in his back pocket and then emptied an entirely different pocket into the hands of the ticket taker when he went to board the plane. GAH. These are the people that give this program a bad name.

We boarded our plane to Sao Paulo after eating ham and cheese croissants and drinking water with some major gas. Seriously, gassy water does not hydrate. I felt more parched after drinking that water, but that’s a conversation for a different day. Haha Oh – and a Jeff quote. He said something about Marvel that was along the lines of “Hi verb, I’m a proper noun. What do you do in your spare time? Join together subjects and objects?”

Our flight to Sao Paulo stopped in a place called Vitoria, but we were not aware that we were landing before Sao Paulo. So…five of us SASers got off the plane in Vitoria and made it to baggage claim before we realized that no one else from our group was coming. Luckily the baggage claim was right off the tarmac, so ran back out, and Paul Travis and I showed our tickets to the people on the ground who hurriedly pointed us back to the plane..OOPS.However, we did make it to Sao Paulo, and somehow Sao Paulo is an hour ahead of Salvador, even though it is further west. Our flight to Manaus was on a huge plane with two aisles. The seats went two – four – two. I sat next to Ryan from Texas who took up most of my leg room because his legs are so long. Not entirely his fault, I know, but pretty uncomfortable for me. I slept most of the way to Manaus, but I woke up in time to catch episodes of The Flintstones, Scooby Doo, and The Jetsons! HELL YEA!

Upon arrival in Manaus after three and a half hours in the air, we split into our two boats. We gave our boat one guides, Antonio and Allan, our passports and then set out in our motorcoaches to the river. Our riverboat was named the Joas Silva VII, and as soon as we got there, Jika, Perry and I claimed awesome hammocks in the very back of the boat. They gave us some snacks and then we went to the meeting of the Rio Negro and the Suliemon (I have no idea how it is spelled!) River, which form the Amazon River. The Rio Negro begins in Peru, the Suliemon begins in Colombia, and then they meet near Manaus and it is the Amazon all the way out to the Atlantic Ocean.

One is black and the Suliemon is tan because it is full of clay, but when they come together they actually stay very distinctly separate. The pictures are amazing because there is actually a line in the water where they come together but do not mix. We aren’t actually on the Amazon River, because it has far too many bugs and too many birds, so it isn’t as conducive to the trip that we want to have.

They gave us some time in our hammocks until we reached our next location, and they were pretty darn comfortable. We woke up to go see some absolutely enormous lily pads. The lily pads were great, but the kicker was the completely unsturdy and swaying platform we walked across and stood on to see the lily pads. Perry and I hightailed it out of there because we were mildly terrified of the thing crashing down. There was also a souvenir shop there, but nothing struck me as something I wanted. We had a lot of time budgeted to be there, but there wasn’t a lot to do, so almost all of us came back to the boat. Some people slept, but most of us decided to have group bonding time downstairs.

At five pm we crawled into our motorized canoes which held ten of us in each canoe plus one driver and one guide. Perry and I grabbed the very front seat which was awesome. As we were heading out, some local people came by with sloths, baby caimans (or gators), and….AN ANACONDA! I held the sloth and the anaconda. I don’t think anyone will ever believe that I ever did these things! We continued for awhile more, and then we disembarked the canoes to see this absolutely enormous tree. Antonio, the guide, said that 17 men holding hands cannot fit around this tree, and I believe it.

After we returned to our canoes, it was time to look for caimans!! Most of the time it was petrifying to be sitting up front. Everytime we would go head first into the tall grass, I would freak out and grab Perry’s hand! Antonio caught a little 8 month old caimen right at the beginning of the search and we held it up front most of the time. It kept trying to fight Perry and he would say, “No, Sir!” and so we named the caimen Sir and we became a little attached to it. After many failed attempts into the grass, Antonio caught a 4-5 year old caimen. I also held that!! It was a risky day for me! It really is a good thing I have pictures because no one would EVER believe this at home. I kind of like that I am beating everyone’s expectations for me and my trip.

After that we came back to our riverboat for dinner and some Uno action in the dark! I’ve never played a game so badly that we all had to resort to just putting cards down or passing because at the end we would only have one card in the draw pile at a time. Haha Now it’s time for bed, because tomorrow is the day of the jungle trek!

Amazon Day Two: Amazon Trek

At several points last night I woke up in my hammock and it was simply pitch black. The engines and generator were off and it was just us in the middle of the Rio Negro with the sounds of the Amazon around us. We woke up really early this morning both because of the engines but also because of the natural sunlight pouring into our hammock area. How wonderful! I woke up this morning and my first thought was, “Thank you, God.” Kind of cheesy, I know, but it was just so wonderful. We ate a filling breakfast and then again got into our motorized canoes to arrive at the start of our jungle trek.

To begin we went up a huge hill! I think we were all sore just after that ten minute hike! I went with the guide Antonio and our native machete wielding guide, Michel. For most of the time we were not on a path and Michel was simply cutting away. At one point we lost Stephanie Sue, our resident director/trip leader and Michel had to go back and find her. Antonio showed us many things like the chicle tree which is used to make gum, and a plant called breyo. Breyo is the plant which can be used to make gun powder. It is lit on fire an the burning oil falls onto a leaf and when it hardens it can be ground together to make gun powder.

And yes..Antonio started fires about three times in the rainforest. Oy! Our hike took about two and a half hours and then we ended at a waterfall. I made it all the way through the hike without doing anything stupid and then right at the end I stepped on a mossy rock and fell quite hard onto my behind. And it is quite a fun shade of black and blue already. Some people swam at the water fall, but the rest of us just waited and then we returned to the boat to eat lunch.

After lunch we went swimming in the Rio Negro!! I wasn’t going to swim but then I said what the hell! I’m probably going to be in the Amazon only once, so live a little and take some more risks! The water was amazingly warm, but then there were little pockets of cool water. Some of the local kids came to swim with us, and then after about half an hour we dried off on the boat and then climbed all 140 steps up to the village. Their medicine man leader showed us around, but I was definitely more interested in the kids that were following us around.

Stellani and Manyete guided me down the hill to the manioc plantation that supports their community and then Heicey and Stellani took me up to the store. I bought a bracelet and necklace. Then…it was soccer time in the raging heat. This whole trip has been absolutely humid and hot. I know all of the people back home in Ohio will despise me for complaining about the heat, however, so let’s move on!

The SAS guys played against the Brazilian guys from the village, and Team Gringo got their butts handed to them on a platter. However, they did score one goal and managed to keep some dignity. The best part for me was that during both the guys and the girls game, Hiecey sat in my lap and Stellani was resting on my leg. At one point Hiecey fell asleep in my lap and it was absolutely priceless. When we left we all wanted to bring our new little kid friends with us…we all just kept yelling, “Ciao!, Ciao!”

After we left the village we went back to the riverboat for snack and then Perry, Stacy, Danielle and I had mad karaoke time with the iPod and sang our hearts out. At around 6 pm the guides hurried us onto canoes and said we were going to go see the sunset and the stars and that we would be back by 7. The sky was absolutely fabulous. I can’t even describe it in such a way that would give it justice. There were no lights whatsoever and even the tiniest stars twinkled brightly.

Around 8:30 we began to get suspicious, and finally I remembered something about a beach party from the SAS itinerary and we began to piece things together. We swung the canoes back around to the beach where our riverboats were, and we immediately saw fireworks being set off, which seems mildly inappropriate in the Amazon, but there were also little fires all over and it was a big beach barbecue! IN THE FREAKING AMAZON!

The other boat was there as well and Jeff finally admitted that boat one was better. They had so much food at this barbecue” meat on skewers, rice, potatoes and the list could go on. We had limbo, tug of war and musical chairs. The lifelong learner, Donna, played musical chairs and we all booed when the “Canadian Killer” of musical chairs, Lindsay, got her out…Lindsay was awesome…I told her I am making her a Canadian Killer tee-shirt haha. I did tug of war, so it was a little reminder of April Reign here in February.

We clambered back into our riverboats, and set out for the night. Most of my boat decided to lay our towels on the back, open sky area and stargaze and talk. Jayme brought a star chart, but nothing would match up in the sky. Finally Owen realized it was for US use only, and it was a good thing nothing matched up because we would have been imagining things. We did find the Southern Cross though, and it was huge! We all hung out and told stories, but I am going to bed now, because I am tuckered out!

Amazon Day Three: Piranhas!

As seems to be usual, we woke up pretty early again this morning as the sun came up and the engines revved for the day. We ate our hearty breakfast and set out in our canoes once again. Our task for the morning? Piranha fishing! Allan was our guide and there was also the captain of the boat. We used beef as our bait and the piranhas are tricky little devils! They would nibble the bait right off of the hook…the worst part was that you could feel their little tug on the line, but then not be able to get the line up in time to hook them!

The captain came and helped me for about 15 minutes and I finally caught one! It was such an exhilarating moment, because when else am I going to catch a piranha? Only 4 of 10 people in my boat caught them, but we all had a lot of fun. Right after fishing we went on another hike. This one was shorter and a little more focused on rainforest survival and things like that. The very interesting part of this trek is that during this hike, Antonio found bug larvae and told us they were edible. He started a fire of leaves and cooked about ten of the larvae and offered them to us to eat. And yes, friends, I ate firefly larva. It wasn’t horrible, but it had a very chewy exterior and a creamy interior. It took me a second to choke it down, but I did it.

After our hike we returned to the Joas Silva VII and changed into our swimming attire. We went to a different beach and it was also amazing. Lindsay and I swam some laps and talked and then vanity set in. Stacy brought a razor with her and we all shaved and then we got Lindsay’s shampoo and conditioner and the hairwashing began. We all just felt a little better. We also discovered that the sand on the bottom of the Rio Negro made a great exfoliant…our feet have never been so smooth!

After our swimming adventure we ate lunch on the boat and had about an hour before we reached the next village we were visiting. The man who greeted us was making a canoe when we walked up the hill. We saw the rubber trees that they tap for extra money and then we walked into the main part of the village. We were given time for shopping so I bought some more jewelry to be presents for people at home (Steph and Mom watch out, you’re getting Brazilian jewelry!)

There were three churches in the village and only 25 families. The Presbyterian and Baptist churches are both pretty small, and then the Roman Catholic church has about 20 of the families. The Protestant churches don’t really have any leaders, and the RC church has a priest come in from Manaus once a year. When the priest comes every couple who wants to get married gets married on the same day.

After we wandered around, a local artisan came out from the store with a fruit that can be mushed up to make dye that sticks to skin for about two weeks. I thought it would be really unique so I got one. I told him to do whatever he wanted, so I now have a bird and flower on my left wrist. It was really cool at the time, but now it is a little smudged and kind of ridiculous looking!

We left the village and began the four hour boat trip back to Manaus. To keep us entertained Antonio and Allan brought a map of the region upstairs and we were supposed to guess where we were. They finally told us we were at the widest part of the Rio Negro. After that, they taught us how to make things out of palm leaves! I made a fan, and Matt made me a crown! Then we played that game where everyone picks one person to recognize and it is everyone’s worst fear to be the last one called out. Haha well, yes, my friends, this time it was me. But hey, Antonio gave me all of the chocolates that were left for my pain. Haha

After that it was show time at the Tiwa Lodge…there was an Amazon “show” which just involved scantily clad women and men dancing. They gave us three drink tickets, so I had a Skol beer and a Soda Antarctica. Jeff was on a roll as he nursed his two sodas all night long and kept yelling “oopa!”

We returned to our boats at 11:15 and departed for Manaus.

Day Four: Return to Salvador.

At midnight we disembarked our boats carrying all of our possessions. I should mention that I bought my hammock. They gave us the option of buying them for 15 bucks and I figured why not! Maybe next year instead of having a futon underneath the one bunked bed, I can have a hammock! We said goodbye to our crew and guides and traveled for 12 hours back to Salvador.

Our first plane left at 2:30 am for Brasilia and then we had a 3 hour layover in Brasilia during which I slept on the floor using my hammock as a pillow and sharing with Jika and Jordi. We boarded our plane home and then we got on our busses and arrive back at the MV Explorer around noon. Thus far I have not been this excited to see my ship!

We showered, ate lunch, napped, and then Elise, Bryan, Jeff, Seth, Jen, me and some of Jen’s friends went out to eat at a Brazilian steakhouse. It is like a revolving buffet in which the meat cutters come to your table and constantly cut you more meat. We spent about 40 bucks each, but it was definitely worth it. That brings my total spending in Brazil to $100 dollars. Thank goodness.

Back on the Boat:

The only real update is that I shaved my head into a Mohawk last night. I’m rocking the hawk today and the scary thing is that I look halfway decent. Tomorrow is Neptune Day and I am getting rid of the rest of it.

And I had my first batch of sea sickness today, so that’s always a joy.

Anyways…off to do work now!

February 14, 2007

In other places: Valentine’s Day…Here on ship: B3

Last night I went and watched the movie on Candomble in the Union and I felt so incredibly sick that I left. However, I am absolutely fascinated by it and the orixas and the syncretism with the Roman Catholic Church…so I added a trip on the first day in Salvador to a Candomble house with Dr. Joyce.

We also heard back on our Sale #1. Through SAS I will be going to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia, to Renmin University/Beijing in China, to Khayelitsha Township in South Africa, on a city orientation and service visit in Mauritius, on the “Rainbow Culture and Religion” FDP, and a yoga demonstration in India. I did not get the rural village and farm visit in India, the Winelands in South Africa, and something else that I now do not remember. However, after dinner last night Cristie, Ashley, Brianne, Jika, Janet and I sat down and we figured out when we are doing everything else that we did not get into.

I also went to my leadership meeting for the Spirituality Programming Committee…there are five girls and the RD Drew. We are going to try to have a weekly worship on Sundays when we are not in port. I have a feeling I am not going to get anything near what I am used to. The other people on the committee are Assembly of God, Nazarene, non denominational, and a former Roman Catholic turned Methodist. That being said…I’m going to try really hard to be flexible and try out new things, while still loving my little Iona book prayers in my cabin!

At dinner we had cake for Cristie’s birthday, and Dante did more tricks for us! After that…of course we did more homework and picked our trips and went up to 6^th deck for 2000 snack time. I think we all live for 2000 snack time…we had tuna salad last night and it was delish. Also assorted snack cakes. I wasn’t getting any work done, so I went down to my cabin and Katie and I just chatted and didn’t get anything else done, but such is life. I’ve been doing so much work that I deserved some time so not do a thing but pleasure read!

Last night, we also lost another hour of sleep. I am DONE losing an hour of sleep. I am gong to begin a coup on this ship, and organize a rebellion. Today, I decided to get out of my fifth class. I finally realized that the last third of the class completely overlapped with the World Civs class that I took at BW, and it was definitely not going to fly with Dr. Gesink..haha So…I now get to sleep in on B days and as much as it sucks that I only have twelve credits, it will allow me to sleep a little bit and not have a ton of extra work to do for something I may or may not get credit for. Here goes a hellish senior year of 18 credits a semester. It’s the price I pay for this 12 credit semester.

Global Studies fails to capture my attention still. The articles we read are absolutely fascinating…many so far have had to deal with the debt of developing countries and organizations such as the IMF and the international banks that continue to lend to developing countries. Today they tried to do an exercise to show the disparity in the world, but it was not very well executed. However, our interport lecturer, Lucio, did an excellent job explaining the growing inequality between the rich and the poor, especially in Brazil.

At one point Elise, Jeff and I thought Brianne was sleeping, so Elise took a picture, but apparently Brianne was just feeling really sick, so that has led to some drama today. It is really hard to have drama on a boat of this size, because no matter where you go, you somehow manage to see that person.

On that note, let’s talk about the intricacies of shipboard life. You know longer apologize when you bump into someone because if we did, we would be apologizing for more than half of our day. We no longer get scared when we heard the thumping noises of the ship, because if we did, we would waste another part of our day. There is a shortage of hot water. We are so sick of cold showers, we might revolt. Only having 23 hours a day for 2/6 days makes everyone really grumpy. On the way to South Africa, we lose five hours.

As Jeff said this morning, “this is what they should do to prisoners…’today is a 19 hour day, suckers!”

I also turned in my alternate day sale form today…for people who did not get everything they wanted in Sale #1, all of the trips with leftover spots go on sale…so I added the Chennai Welcome Reception…and other things I don’t remember.

I am really worried about my roommate in Brazil…she is traveling all alone. Just her. She is flying to Iguassu Falls from Salvador on her own, taking taxis on her own, staying at the hotel by herself. And…if there is one thing they tell you to not do on Semester at Sea, it is travel in Brazil by yourself. I’ve honestly been trying to convince her not to go, and she knows there is a big risk…and today she asked me if I would pray for her every night she was gone. So…for all of you out there in blogosphere…say a little prayer for Katie from now until she comes back to the ship on the 22^nd of February.

In any case, I am back in the piano lounge to do work until 5.

OH THE NEWS FROM TODAY!!! At 1214 we CROSSED THE EQUATOR!!!!! 0 degrees and 0 minutes! Many of you might be saying, “Well, LeeAnne, shouldn’t you be celebrating Neptune Day?” and the answer is yes, we should. However, because we have to have a certain number of classes in before the first global studies test on B4, we are not having it until February 24^th. And my friends at home…you will be waiting with baited breath until I return home to know whether I shave my head or not…it is still up in the air, but 90% one way and 10% the other…say tuned for May 14 J

At 5 I have my Spiritual Programming Committee full meeting which the 5 of us from yesterday are leading, and then at 7 I have a meeting for SEAS. And Monopoly night tonight at 8…because we are boycotting the Stoplight Dance for Valentine’s Day…although if I went I would wear a neon green shirt with blinking green LED lights. Haha adios for today!

February 12, 2007

B2

So last night? My mom called J Thank you for spending that ridiculous amount of money to call, because I really really really appreciated it! Go tell those roadpost people that you want a freaking refund, because honestly, I spent 200 bucks I could have used on that crappy satellite phone.

We lost another hour of sleep last night. I am getting really really sick of this losing sleep thing! Just when we begin to get adjusted to our new time, we are told to turn back our clocks again! GAH! I went to my new Western Civs class this morning in the classroom that has the picture of the woman balancing on her hand on top of a dolphin…someone please remind me to take pictures of the kooky artwork on this ship sometime. I began to feel incredibly seasick during Western Civs because they kicked up the engines to go around 19 knots. I think it was just exacerbated by how freaking exhausted I am. So I went back to my room during Global Studies…I know, my first skipped class on the ship. I was going to be so incredibly sick if I stayed there. I went back to my room and I tried to sleep, but I just felt so sick that I couldn’t sleep. I got up for my Medieval Travel Accounts class and we watched a movie about the Vikings..it was incredibly interesting and we began looking at the modern ideas that we place upon the Vikings (and others past groups) and how we have to look at their cultures and practices through the lens of their values.

After that I went and showered because during medieval travels the Dean’s Memo scrolled by and I saw that Desmond Tutu was signing autographs in the 6^th deck at 1600. At 1400 I went to 6^th deck dining room to do homework and just sat there doing work with Kaitlyn, her roommate and some other people. He walked in and pow…the line formed.

It was very low-key autograph today, not widely announced, and so of course I was there. I would have been first in line, but some creeps jumped right in. haha I had him sign my Book of Common Prayer…Bishop Williams and Father Gary signed it when I was confirmed, so I only thought it would be cool to have the Archbishop sign that as well. When I arrived at the front of the line, I sat down next to him, and when he saw that I had brought my BCP/Hymnal, he said, “well, this will have to be a special autograph then!” and he signed it, “LeeAnne, God Bless You. +Desmond 2.12.07” I have been waiting for the right time to ask for a picture, and since BW college relations just sent me an email asking for a picture, I used that to my benefit as well..haha I’m sure he is sick of the pictures already, but he had to expect at least a little bit of it!

I continued to do work…dinner at 5:30…more homework. Honestly, I don’t think I actually have more work here on SAS as compared to Baldwin-Wallace. I do think, however, that I am actually DOING more of my work. We do not have the distractions of stalking facebook for hours, playing online games, or talking on Instant Messenger. So…most of what we do is do our homework. We also don’t have jobs on this ship, except for the work-study kids, so it leaves a lot of open time especially on these long stretches at sea. And unluckily and luckily, we have a ton of work to do to fill our time.

Oh…and at dinner we made friends with our busboy Dante. It was me, Brianne, Ashley and Cristie. At one point Ashley looked up to ask Dante if he knew when we were going to have oranges out next, but instead of actually asking him anything, she just gazed up with this goofy grin on her face. It was hilarious.

That being said…we also watched Eddie Izzard at 2000. haha For those of you who have not heard of Eddie Izzard, he is a transvestite British comedian, and Rick brought them. (Rick’s mom…my mom sent me an email saying that you two have communicated! I hung out with Rick in San Juan the first day, and he has been a part of the two movie nights we have had!) Eddie ripppppped the Church of England and I laughed forever…some of the other people watching didn’t get it all, but man oh man, I almost cried I was laughing so hard.

After that I went upstairs for 2200 snack time, but everything good was gone, so I just came back to my room and here I am…roommate and I are having our usual re-freaking-diculous conversations and we’re going to bed.

February 13, 2007

A3

I didn’t have my 800 class this morning!! Woohoo! Thank you Dr. Joyce! At 1700 tonight we are watching a movie on Candomble with the Spirit Possession and Ethnography class. However, because she moved class, I am missing my Spirituality Programming Leaders meeting and the Ambassador’s Club meeting.

I woke up at 8, met the gang for breakfast at 815, and then we went to the Piano Lounge for Global Studies. I do not go to the Union at all anymore…I get so incredibly sick when I am in there, and I would rather not vomit, thank you very much. (too much detail? Sorry…) Today we talked about Sustainable Development and the Brazilian Economy and Environment. I really like the definition given to us by Dr. Monty about Sustainability. He said it is the intersection of Economics, Environment, and Social Equity.

After Global Studies I napped until 12:30, and then I went and put my fliers for the Social and Environment Awareness Society (referred to as SEAS from here on out) on people’s door. Every day Bryan and I are putting up facts on people’s doors. Today the fact we put up is that JCPenney’s Sears, Toys R Us and many other mainline stores use prison labor to make their products. Even worse? Pedophiles are making children’s toys for Toys R Us in two states. Makes you think a little, eh?

I had International Relations with Dr. Wes today and his quote of the days is, “Fidel Castro..he’s the real never ending bunny.” That class goes by so quickly because he is just so engaging, and I wish Global Studies was like that…

Ever since then I have been sitting in 6^th deck dining room doing homework and writing this. Tonight at 5 I have that movie on Candomble, and then at 6 we are celebrating Cristie’s 21^st because that was yesterday!! Then? Ha probably more work.

They’ve been having “AFTer Hours pub night every night at sea lately, but I really don’t feel like squishing myself on deck 7 with 200-300 other SASers. Not to mention that I have a lot to do. Anyways, off of that soapbox. I am going to go try to get some actual work done. Adios!

February 7, 2007

Puerto Rico: Day One

Puerto Rico was fun, but in the ways I did not possibly expect. On Wednesday morning I woke up at 6:15 in the morning to go up to 7^th deck in order to see us pull into our first port of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Long story made short: the group I was hanging out with for the beginning of the voyage is not really the group I am going to continue to be traveling and being with for the rest of this voyage. But, things could change…only time will tell. They’re not being very nice or genuine, and those are not the people I want to spend my time on this voyage with. The view was excellent as we pulled into San Juan. We circled around the island a little bit, and passed Fort El Morro and saw the sunrise and it was simply awesome.

Right after we docked, the governor of Puerto Rico boarded our ship, along with the Secretary of State! We all gathered in the Union and before the Puerto Ricans came in, the San Juan press boarded and came into the Union, followed by Desmond Tutu. Then the governor came in and spoke to us. Roberto, a student on ship from PR, had the honor of presenting our gift to the governor…what a special thing for him! He spoke in Spanish to the governor and had pictures taken by the press, so it was really cool for him.

In order to go through immigration they called us up by seas to retrieve our passports, meet face to face with an immigrations officer and then give our passport back. It really didn’t take very long, so pretty soon, I was on Puerto Rican soil. The day before we learned about the commonwealth system in PR, so it was nice to disembark and throughout the days I was able to talk to a couple Puerto Ricans about their thoughts on the current system.

I met up with Brianne, Janet, Jika (who is from Mexico City!), Matt Hershberger, and some other random people. One of the best things about this trip even now is that people are all so willing to just hang out in port…almost none of us had hung out a lot before, but we didn’t have any plans for Puerto Rico, and we all decided to head out into old San Juan.

We made the 25 minute walk from the boat to Old San Juan and it was killer in the hot humid heat! I don’t think I could handle living here! I am almost longing for the snow and cold at home!! We wandered around the beautiful streets of San Juan, and slowly but surely we all broke off into smaller groups. I ended up with Jay, Jika, Janet, and Brianne. We were still wandering, but getting hungry when we asked an older man on Calle de Fransisco if there was an authentic Puerto Rican restaurant nearby. His name was Pedro and he personally showed us to a restaurant called El Jibarito. He walked in, called out “cinco!” and got us a table. The food was excellent! I had a veal stew with yellow rice and chicken sausage! I also got passion fruit juice which was refreshing! As we were eating Roberto walked in with his friends, so we knew we had a good place when the native Puerto Rican came in!

After lunch we walked up to Fort El Morro. It was what we saw when we came in on Wednesday, and the view all the way up there was simply fabulous. To the right down the cliff was a white sand beach and an old cemetery with beautiful statues. To the left was a rocky slope, with the cerulean waves crashing on the rocks. It is hard to give words to the feeling of being up so high, with the wind blowing, and the sound of waves crashing beneath. The word freedom comes to mind. Even this soon into the voyage that is becoming a theme…I am doing the things I never thought I could do, and not doing the things I always thought I would do. It’s an incredible and liberating feeling.

After Fort Morro we went and got a mojito at the local bar and then went to the ship for dinner and then we headed out to the Welcome Reception! We joined up with Cristie, Denise and Ashley and got in line. We boarded the bus, with our leader, Emily Allina, who is a nurse on board. We were told that we were headed to Caribbean University in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. It was about a 30 minute bus ride, and when we arrived there was a massive line of students waiting for us. There were girls in stilts, people in demon outfits, a drum group playing…it was great!

We went to an auditorium and watched a movie (ALL IN SPANISH!) about the university and then heard from its dean and one of the professors. The mayor of Bayamon issued a special city proclamation in honor of our coming, and sent one of Puerto Rico’s great actresses to present it to us. After that we processed in a big festive line to what was like the North Quad at BW. However, they had great Puerto Rican food waiting for us, and dancers performing! This incredible troupe of dancers performed traditional Puerto Rican dances to upbeat music all night long. Towards the end of the night they had us on stage too. There was girl from Caribbean University that I had been talking to all night long whose father lives in Cleveland. She is coming this summer and so we exchanged phone numbers and she is going to call when she gets to Cleveland. It will be unique that she was able to give me a slice of Puerto Rican life and hopefully I can show her around the Cleveland area a little bit!

We came home after that, and Brianne, Elise, Bryan and I decided we weren’t going to go out. However, we decided that we really wanted to just get a drink and relax after a really crazy and rushed day. WELL, on the way home from Bayamon, Brianne was really proud of herself because right across from the ship she saw “St. Tropez Disco Pub” We thought “this is great! We can just kick back right across from the ship and have a drink or two and get back on.” Naturally we walk across the street, and go to the door only to be given really funny looks. The man says, “No Ladies Allowed” and so we inquire further. It turns out that this place is actually a strip club at best, and who knows what at worst. Haha Oh Puerto Rico.

February 8, 2007

Puerto Rico: Day Two

And Day Two started off with a bang. Kaitlyn, Cristie, Brianne, Ashley and I headed to the Bacardi Factory. We caught a cab right outside the port authority and he said he would drive us all the way to the factory for 9 dollars each. Sounded cool right? Well..he was all over the road, never in a lane and it was the scariest ride ever. Once we arrived at the Bacardi Factory, we told him that we wouldn’t need him for the ride home, but he still wanted his round trip fare and he was a little scary so we just gave it to him.

The Bacardi Factory was simply amazing. Little thing I never knew: Rum is made out of molasses. It was gorgeous and we really learned a lot. I know what you are all thinking: what is there to possibly learn at a rum factory? Well…we actually learned a lot about the histories of both Puerto Rico and Cuba, where Bacardi was founded. It was fascinating to learn about the background of people who came to Cuba and the state of the company there today and things like that. Some lucky few received videomail from me at the Bacardi factory including my mother! Haha I’m sure she was overjoyed to see my shining face standing in front of a wall of rum bottles. Sorry mom…but it was a good trip!

At the end of our tour we were given two tickets for free drinks at Casa Bacardi! Haha Again…sorry mom, but I drank a mojito at 10:30 in the morning. They weren’t very strong though, since they were free, and it was just nice to have a cold drink in the warm breeze! We heard that it was just a short walk to the ferry, so when we left the factory we made the trek down a long and dirty road. And…I’d never been honked at so much in my life by trucks. Blech! So…we kept walking and walking and walking…and we stopped to ask a postman how far it was to the San Juan ferry and he said at least a mile and a half more. At this point, my Tevas were digging into my feet, and everyone was hot, so we flagged down the next taxi we saw, and made it to the 50 cent ferry!

After we arrived in Old San Juan we found a dinky local Puerto Rican diner and sat down and ordered…we got papaya milkshakes…and their specialty? The hamburger. Haha I took a taxi back to the ship because I was meeting my neighbor Bryan and his girlfriend Elise to go to Kmart at the mall to stock up for the rest of the voyage on food, water, juice, etc. haha However…we just ended up walking back to Old San Juan, so I wasted six bucks on a cab fare. I did get to change out of my Tevas into flip flops, so it might have been worth it. Haha My blisters are so ridiculously huge and gross! After shopping at Walgreen’s and not finding much, I caught up with Brianne, Ashley, Kaitlyn and Cristie again. We stopped for coffee, shopped at some Puerto Rican clothing stores (I didn’t find anything! Almost bought a cute sun dress, but I saw the tag was 50 bucks, and that stopped that!) We came back to the ship, and met Marissa Flores for dinner at the 7^th deck snack bar before departing for bioluminescent bay.

It was an hour and 15 minute van ride to Bioluminescent Bay, and once we arrived we put on bug spray, life jackets, took off everything but our bathing suits and hopped into our kayaks. I split one with Brianne, and for once, I was the more experience person and the calm one. Haha We started in a big open area, and then kayaked twenty minutes through the night sky and mangrove trees on both sides. Brianne was up front and once we almost crashed into a mangrove, but only once!

All of our kayaks were tied together once we reached the actual bioluminescent bay, and we were given the science behind it, and then allowed to jump in. I don’t remember all the science, but special plankton exist in 4 bioluminescent bays throughout the world. Three are in Puerto Rico and one in Japan. When disturbed, they shine and glow. The ones in this specific bay glow a green blue. When you move at all in the water, the entire spot around you simply lights up. Unfortunately, there aren’t any pictures of this, because when light hits it, they become translucent. That is why this trip is only offered at night. It was definitely worth the 65 bucks and I would definitely do it again! It was incredible to lay in the water, gaze up in the night sky, and then see the water shimmering.

After we came back, we all decided that we were going to go out to San Sebastian Street, the big night life scene. Brianne, Marissa and I showered quickly and then caught a taxi up to San Sebastian. We eventually found our friends sitting in a park, and so we got out and went to Café San Sebastian. I got a Medalla Light, which is one of the beers produced in Puerto Rico. It didn’t really taste like beer, thank goodness, and was actually pretty good. One of my guy friends bought me a Cuba Libre (it’s a rum and coke, but if you ask for a Cuba Libre it has to come with Bacardi and has a lime! Learned that at the Bacardi factory!) We walked around to a couple of bars, and met up with Brad, Michael, Jayme and Victor, but Ashley, Cristie and I headed back pretty early because we were exhausted and there wasn’t anything incredibly exciting going on.

February 9, 2007

Puerto Rico: Day Three

In the morning Brianne and I walked to Old San Juan to hit up the grocery store, Pueblo, and get the rest of the things we needed, and then we came back to the boat, dropped our stuff off, and headed to the beach! It took a while to find, but as soon as we got there, Janet, Jika, Ashley and another girl from Mexico were just getting there too. Everyone from SAS was there it seemed like…we hung out with Matt and some other guys. We put our sunscreen on and headed into the water. It was beautiful. We got out after about half an hour, put more sunscreen on and just slept in the sun for an hour and a half or so. I figured I lathered a lot of sun screen on, so I would be ok, but no.

I look like a walking talking lobster. I have sunglass tan lines on my face, and I cannot move most parts of my body. I have not gone outside at all today because I can barely move. I wore my tankini yesterday, so I also have this impressive stripe of red across my lower back from where the tankini came up. My lips were also a little swollen, so I now know the real meaning of sun burn!

We came back to the boat around 4 pm, even though on ship time wasn’t until 9. There were a lot of people back already because no one wants to risk dock time after the first port! Brianne, Elise, Jeff, Bryan and I were in the classroom across from the Piano Lounge and Elise broke the couch. Haha It is definitely not a comfortable couch because it is all just plywood with just a little padding and a cover. haha

We ate dinner here and then just sat outside with Elise, Bryan, and the other girls. I really couldn’t move. We stayed out long enough to see us pull out of Puerto Rico, and then I came in and went to bed just before midnight and talked to my roommate for a little bit.

February 10, 2007

B1

Woooot…second day of classes. Okay…not that exciting. I can move a little more today, thanks to Brianne letting me use her Aloe gel! I met up with the Ashley, Cristie and Brianne for breakfast, and then we trekked to global studies so we could sit in Dr. Wes’s discussion group section. Haha Global Studies is ridiculously boring. When you look around the Union there are people sleeping, people who have the almost asleep bobbing heads, people so bored they can’t even take notes, and then those of us who take every last note even when we want to beat our heads against the tables.

The good part about global studies today was the discussion time during which we talked about the conversations we had with people in Puerto Rico about their status with the United States. Almost everyone I talked with was okay with the idea of continuing on as a commonwealth, but there were a few voices about statehood. However, almost no one heard a lot from people who desired total independence. We also began discussing Brazil and the geo-ecological status of the country. Dr. Ebersole lectured on biology and Dr. O’Brien on the plate tectonics that effect the nation. That part was pretty good.

After global studies I talked to Dr. Wes about adding his International Political Economy course, because I was worried about being at a disadvantage because I have not taken micro or macro and I am just now in Intro to Int’l Relations. We talked for a bit, and decided it would probably be best to not add that specific course. Now, I am looking at adding either Sustainable Communities with Dr. Rocky Rohwedder (yes…said like Rocky Road-er haha) and if I can’t get that, than I am going to add School and Society with Rocky Rohwedder, and if I can’t get that, my last ditch effort will be to take three courses from the same professor, by taking Western Civ I with Dr. Joyce. I am waking up at 6 am to go get in the add/drop line because it starts at 7 am and I have an 8 am class. I will be camping out, but for a class and not concert tickets.

I went to Medieval Travel Accounts with Dr. Joyce, and taking two upper level courses with her is going to be a very interesting experience. Elise is in that class, along with Megan from Bio Bay and a couple other people I’ve met. Ate lunch with Elise, Bryan, Jen, Christina, Jennifer and Jeff and then I took a nap while my roommate did her homework. I went up to Piano Lounge around 1545 and did homework until 1730. At about 1715 they made an announcement that there are going to be bridge tours tomorrow, so Elise and I ran to Purser’s Square to sign up, and there was already a line! There were 4 spots left when we got there and we got two of the three last ones for our time slot! SCORE! Tomorrow at 1045 we will be touring the bridge and seeing what the captain sees and sitting in his chair! However, they do not let us touch navigation, but that is a good thing since I nearly crashed Uncle Bob’s boat at Lakeside when he let me try to steer it! Haha

They also made an announcement about the alcohol policy on the ship. It used to be at the captain’s discretion that there would be pub nights called “AFTer hours” and people could purchase up to four drink tickets. The new policy is that alcohol will be available at all dinner and every night at sea except for the nights before and after we leave port. To do this you have to purchase a drink card at the Purser’s Office for 45 dollars. For that card you get 18 drinks. You can have two with dinner and four at night at the most. I understand their rationale in that they want to normalize having a drink with dinner and not having it be something that people in college to do simply get drunk. However, there are people on ship who take advantage of it. If I do buy a card, it will be one card to last me throughout the voyage, because I am not going to be that semester at sea kid who can’t remember their voyage, but I see no problem in having wine with dinner or a beer on back deck every so often. However, there are some very rich kids on this voyage who will keep buying drink cards and always be intoxicated. My roommate and I were just talking because we both like to do our homework or just write on deck 6. However, if there are always going to be people on deck 7 drinking, it won’t be that way anymore. We shall see. It is going to be an experiment for SAS and I hope my voyage can deal with it.

We ate dinner...came back to my room to do work, which we actually got done. We were motivated…if we finished our Puerto Rico papers for mysticism, we were going to reward ourselves with watching the movie “Saved!” tonight. Haha We went to the activities far and I signed up for hanging out with the children of faculty and staff (because I miss my daycare kids!), Students of Service, Judicial Panel, Spirituality Programming Committee, and being adopted by a faculty/staff member or life long learner. The “Ship Shrinks” had a fun table too where they were having people write down what they want to do with their future, and they are going to try to find lifelong learners/staff/and faculty to match us up with to talk about stuff. The “Ship Shrinks” as they call themselves are hilarious..Arnie is this hippie dude and Marvel has an adopted Cambodian daughter! It was so crowded in the 5^th deck dining room so I left!

I’m back here in my room writing and I should be doing homework…People who call this program kindergarten at sea need to really reevaluate what they are saying and talk to someone who has been on this voyage recently. This will probably be one of my most challenging semesters ever.

I also have to turn in my Sale #1 form tomorrow. I have decided to do a township visit and winelands tour through SAS, but my cage shark diving and Robben Island will be done independently in South Africa For Mauritius I plan on it being my spring break and going to the beach a lot, but I have also signed up for a Religion and Culture tour because it was colonized by so many different countries and has some very impressive religious buildings and history. I am also signing up for other trips, but really, I’m too exhausted now to list them.

I paused this entry to go watch saved with Elise, Rick, Jeff and a girl from Wyoming..aww memories of EYE…we were talking about the campus haha.

Anyways…good night…here are some good quotes from the last few days

“I was basically making out with the toilet last night” KClark on trying to find her face wash

“Did you know…you can ovulate four eggs at once” BTing for no apparent reason

“The Golden Ass is up and running.” Me – telling my mysticism prof that the “The Golden Ass” document was now working. haha

February 4, 2007

It seems like a dream. For all of today, I simply wanted to pinch myself and ask if I was going to wake up from the dream or stay in it for the next 100 days. Yesterday was spent in the Bahamas and Uncle Bob and I went snorkeling…we saw some beautiful reef and gorgeous fish. There were also some prehistoric looking fish that were quite ugly. Another pair of snorkelers saw a reef shark, and at that point we decided to return to the boat that had brought us. I spent the rest of the day with the grandparents and took a nap. Grandpa took us to this presentation about some timeshare program because it gave us a free lunch. Haha That is definitely the style of my gramps. I thought Grandma was going to maul him.

Last night I went out to dinner with a group from the Nassau Beach plus Liz from Chicago. They were all a lot of fun, but after dinner we went back to the hotel. Not before ordering some Bahama Mamas though!!

This morning I split a taxi with Amanda and Caitlin, whom I met the previous night at dinner. We arrived at the harbor at 9:30, and stood in line, and eventually made it to the front of the line around 10:30. We had our passports checked, were given our ship IDs, and then went on to baggage. I should explain something here. The zipper on my huge duffel bag broke this morning and we couldn’t fix it. So…gramps duct taped the entire bag shut. It was certainly quite the ordeal. So…when we went through baggage check, I was relieved when the security officer simply asked me if I had any prohibited items, and when I repeatedly said no, he just let me give my bags to the porters.

Upon clearing this security point we had to walk down to the gangway and people had to empty any full water bottles. They are definitely convinced that we are all raging alcoholic sneaking vodka on board in our water bottles. We cleared more security going through our carry-ons and then we wound our way through paper work in the union. And then…I found my room: 4030!!

My roommate wasn’t here yet and was not for awhile, but her name is Katie Clark and she is from Sioux City, Iowa, but goes to school in Indiana, and is graduating after this SAS. She knew a girl in high school who is also on this trip, so they are spending a lot of time together. At first, I wasn’t sure what to think of her…she is beautiful, incredibly outgoing, and walked in with 4 people when she came to the room for the first time. However, last night we spent hours talking in our room, which was so cool. We actually have a ton in common, and the really crazy thing is that she is an Episcopalian! Haha We were talking about our goals in life, what we want to do, and when I said I was in the discernment process for the priesthood, she just said, “cool, I am an Episcopalian too.” And that was it. Followed by: Let’s have a drink on pub night. It’s about time I got that reaction. haha

Okay…back to the day. I found Liz and Cassie on 7^th deck while hunting for Desmond Tutu, and we went to lunch and I finally saw Katie from Akron and Caitlin from the night before! We all dined, and some of the Resident Directors came and sat with us, which was nice, because the two rhat did were previous SASers. At 1:30 my grandparents came on board and I showed them around, and then finally went to the doctor on board for the ridiculous red bumps on my arm…he said they are just horrible bug bites, and if they get worse, I should take the meclyzine for motion sickness that they have in purser’s square, because it also has an anti-histimine in it! At 3:25 I herded my crew to the door, and I didn’t think I was going to cry until I went to hug Grandma, and I saw her face kind of contort with emotions. My grandma doesn’t cry. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her cry before in my life actually. So…I lost it. And then hugging Gramps goodbye, I kept crying.

Liz and I headed up to the top deck to wave goodbye to everyone. Uncle Bob saw me and ran back to get Grandma and Grandpa to come down to where I was…Surely Grandma does not need that cane because she practically ran down that dock! Grandpa was trying to figure out how to use the camera still, and Grams didn’t stop waving practically until the ship was out of sight. When we first started moving away from the dock, I didn’t realize it and commented to Liz, “gosh, we have not even started moving yet!” She pointed down to the expanse of water between us and the dock and I surely felt a little stupid. Haha.

We set out to sea and immediately had a life boat drill. This involved putting on long pants, long sleeves, closed toe shoes, and the life jacket. We stood in straight rows in 5^th deck for almost 45 minutes because two girls weren’t paying attention to when their names were called. Woot for station B4 haha

We proceeded to have dinner and then hang out…we ate in the 6^th deck cafeteria and talked for a couple hours. We also had a “sea” meeting. To explain, the residential parts of the ship are divided up into “seas” in order to create smaller communities. My resident director is Erika and she was on the Spring 2005 voyage that is often known as the “Big Wave Voyage.” I am part of the Bering Sea Pirates! I’m ready to kick some serious butt in tug of war during Sea Olympics! I will surely miss April Reign this year at BW!

February 5, 2007

Today was all orientation and we ate and sat. sat and ate. And ate and sat. And that’s it. We talked on the back deck and hung out. We learned about safety and security, student life and everything. Our last meeting tonight was about the Field Office. Really…that’s all there is to day two. Tomorrow is the first day of classes…A1! I have Mysticism and the Religious Experience, Global Studies and Intro to International Relations. Woooot. It should be fun, that’s for sure. Haha I met all of my professors today, and we had day one of Global Studies. I actually have to do my work tonight…go figure.

I am also going to try to sign up for a 5^th class on ship. I talked to Dr. Mike (Maniates, from Allegheny College), the academic dean of the ship, who is also teaching a class on the Politics of 3^rd World Poverty. I talked to him tonight, however, and he invited me to come sit in on the class, and we can see if someone drops the class and maybe he can get me in. Even if I can’t get credit for it, I might just go sit in on it for the duration of the semester anyways. It was one of my first choices for classes, so I am obviously interested, and I hope someone gets terrified and drops!

We have only been on the ship for just over 24 hours, but it feels like a lot longer.

I am grateful that I have found a good group of friends already that I am making plans with and that my roommate seems pretty amazing.

Now…I am going to go sit in the stairwell and upload this to Blogger and waste some precious internet time…photos should be uploaded at the internet café in Puerto Rico! And then…I have to read some really boring information on the Caribbean for Global Studies tomorrow! I also have Pirate of the Caribbean playing in the background of my room on the one channel that shows popular movies! haha I love and miss you all SO much, and I can’t wait to see if I have any mail in Puerto Rico!

They aren’t kidding when they say Semester at Sea is a transformational experience and I can tell you that before I am even aboard the MV Explorer. This morning I left my comfort zone behind. I do still have my grandparents with me right now, and my great-uncle Bob, but for the most part, I am on my own here in Nassau. It’s exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.

I went to bed at 2 am last night after finishing packing…only for my alarm to go off at 3:30. Needless to say, there wasn’t much sleep to be had. Mom drove to the airport with us to say goodbye and that was the most difficult occurrence thus far. Saying goodbye to my friends was absolutely horrible. My friends are the world to me, so this week saying my “see you in the fall”s was really hard. Leaving my mom, however, was so difficult because she is my mom…you know? She is so nervous about me doing this trip, but she’s letting me go anyways, and I really appreciate it. Thank you, mom.

The flight from Cleveland to Charlotte was uneventful. I fell asleep for some of it, and we were late getting to Charlotte because of having to de-ice the plane in Cleveland. I ran to our next gate for the Bahamas while Grandma and Grandpa got a cart to ride in because their knees and backs just aren’t good. Before we got on the flight, some of us SASers recognized each other from facebook and started talking and soon enough more and more people were saying, “Wait, are you with Semester at Sea too?” On the plane there were four of us right by one another, and I ended up talking to a girl named Janet almost the entire way there.

Once in Nassau we had to clear immigration and customs and then we got on our shuttle to the Nassau Beach Hotel. Liz Marriett from Chicago was on my shuttle! However, Liz has experienced every SASer’s worst nightmare: both of her bags are lost. She is one of the sweetest SAS people I have met thus far, and I just feel so incredibly bad for her. Luckily her mom is here and they are buying things, but what a horrible situation for her. Another nightmare scenario has occurred in my hotel: there are two girls waiting to check in, but can’t because the room is in their friend’s name and he just hasn’t showed up and hasn’t called or anything. They have been sitting in the lobby for 7 hours.

Once here we found Uncle Bob Ford and we went to lunch at Café Johnny Canoe’s. It was pretty good…came back here and napped and talked to friends at home. We were attempting a meetup tonight, but it didn’t work because everyone’s flights are messed up due to the tornados in Florida and snow in Southern states that don’t often have to deal with that. I went to dinner again with Gram, Gramps and Uncle Bob, and now I am here sitting on my balcony.

Ultimately, I think I am grateful that I am just staying in tonight…no sleep last night, and I don’t feel like getting sick during the first week of the voyage. A little self-care is in order and I’m okay with that.

Tomorrow morning at 10:30 Uncle Bob and I are going snorkeling! There is a company that offers it right at the beach of our hotel, and I loved it so much with Girl Scouts that I am doing it again! Which new bathing suit will I wear? I’ve gone from not owning a bathing suit to having three from which I must choose.

This all simply seems so incredibly surreal. Getting on the plane this morning seemed like a dream, and being on this wonderful balcony is almost too idyllic to be true. I’ve had to adapt on this journey so far, which is what led me to start this entry the way I did. It will be transformational, I am sure, because I am going to have to learn to be flexible, which is not always a strength of mine, but I’ve done it so far with a little bit of grace. I hope I am not making a premature prediction here, but I’m ready to see the world, and learn to roll with the punches.

Good night from Nassau: where the music is blaring, the palm trees are swaying in the wind, and LeeAnne is incredibly content.